New research shows that industry players are slightly less bullish on the voluntary market than they were a year ago. Interest, hope and expectations still remain high, however.

Eastbridge Consulting takes the temperature of the voluntary market each year through its confidence index. The index for year-end 2007 fell to 97.3 from 101 at the mid-point of 2007 and 102.3 at the close of 2006. The index -- a single number that compares current results to a baseline measure -- was started in 2005. The survey results from that year formed the baseline and 2005 was scored at 100.

"Compared to the prior survey, this year's respondents appear to be more cautious when it comes to voluntary sales expectations over the next 12 months," Gil Lowerre, president of Eastbridge, says.

The broader dip in the confidence index can be attributed to the fact that there were noticeably fewer people saying sales will "increase a lot" in 2007 compared to 2005. At the mid-point of 2007, 34% of respondents were saying that compared to just 20% this past December.

Eastbridge VP Bonnie Brazzell says the broader economy might be to blame. "Every time we have some pressures and we do this survey we find that people are concerned that disposable income[s] may not continue to rise like they have been and the impact will be felt in the voluntary industry," she explains.

But as the broader economic environment looks less hospitable, should there be an expectation that protection products might become more attractive? Maybe, says Brazzell. "It's interesting because we see that the recognition of the need for protecting themselves is still there and they still want to purchase products, what we see is they may purchase less of a product in terms of a benefit amount," she says.

Listen in as Brazzell shares a more of her insight and analysis of where the market is currently and where it's headed at EBA's Raw Bar.